Lacquer Box Showing - Tatyana Smirnova

Thursday, March 12th, 2009

Welcome to our newest showing featuring the works of Palekh artist Tatyana Smirnova. Longtime patrons of the website may remember her works from several years ago, and since then Smirnova has undergone some big changes in her life. Now she is married and divides her time between two homes, one in Palekh and one in the USA, where her daughter lives. Despite her new life, Smirnova continues to grace the lacquer box world with her innovative pieces that push the boundaries of Palekh art. "Russian Lullaby", completed this year, is hard not to like. Painted on a medium size box, the scene speaks to the tender memories of childhood, the early days of one's life where everything is new, and magical. Smirnova takes us there in this sweet and innocent work. Images of children, in fact, are a favorite subject for this artist, like in the next beautiful box called "Gathering Mushrooms". Fairy tales are well represented, too, including "Vasilisa" which also gives you a glimpse of the Russian
witch, Baba Yaga. My personal favorite from the showing could be "Feeding Birds", an understated and quiet piece, which has a very elegant look with the skillful use of gold leaf. Contrasted with that is the always comical image of Kolobok who nobody can seem to get a handle on, but it quite loveable nonetheless. There are nine boxes in all, and we are so pleased that we are once again able to offer work from this outstanding miniature artist.
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